The invention concerns a knife having a handle and a blade.
A blade has a side 9 which is ground sharp, referred to as the cutting edge. The cutting edge serves for cutting articles.
The object of the invention is to provide a knife having improved properties in relation to the above-indicated state of the art.
In accordance with the disclosed invention the knife has a blade which is connected rotatably to the handle. Provided in the handle is a slot into which the blade can be pivoted or folded. When the blade is folded into the handle it can be folded out of same. There are two limit positions. The one limit position is reached when the blade is folded into the handle. The other limit position is reached when the blade is folded out of the handle to such an extent theat the blade substantially forms a straight line with the handle.
Advantageously the knife has a locking means by which the blade can be locked or unlocked when the blade is folded into the handle. Locking or in locking in the above-indicated sense occurs when that is possible by manual actuation of the locking means. The locking means can therefore be moved manually into two positions. In the first position, the folded-in blade is locked. If then the locking means is suitably manually actuated, that locking action is then released. The blade can then be pivoted out of the handle without having to act on the locking means again.
The provision of a locking means in the above-indicated manner can operate in particular as a child-proofing means. In the folded-in condition the cutting edge, that is to say the sharp side of the blade, is covered by the handle. The cutting edge is then no longer accessable from the exterior. The fact that the end position of the blade is then locked affords additional protection from improper handling. Improper handling and injuries that this entails are to be feared in particular if a knife as claimed falls into the hands of small children. If then the blade is locked in the folded-in condition, a small child cannot readily fold the blade out of the handle and inflict injuries on himself or others, with the sharp cutting edge.
In an advantageous embodiment the above-mentioned locking means for locking the blade in the folded-in condition includes a rotatable pin which is accessible from the exterior and which is disposed in the handle of the knife. The pin has a opening. The blade also has a opening. The two openings are so matched to each other that the opening in the pin is in the opening in the blade when the blade is folded into the handle. In addition the two openings are such that the folded-in blade is either locked or unlocked by rotation of the pin.
The design configuration of the above-indicated locking means is simple to produce. In addition rotation of the pin, in particular if it is only of a small diameter, requires a certain amount of manual dexterity to rotate it. As a certain degree of manual dexterity is required for unlocking the blade, it is usually not possible or scarcely possible for a small child to unlock a locked, folded-in blade. The child-proofing effect is then particularly reliable.
An advantageous configuration of the invention provides a fixing means which so fixes the pin that, to unlock the blade, it is necessary to apply a force which is greater than the force which is to be applied for turning the pin. In that way the pin is protected from inadvertent rotation. The intended safeguarding effect is further improved in that way.
The fixing means is embodied in a particularly simple manner by a projection or tongue 7 which engages into a groove 6 when the blade which is folded into the handle is locked. The pin then has for example the groove. The tongue corresponding thereto is desirably disposed in the interior of the opening in the blade. The position and size of the groove and the tongue are so matched to each other that they are in mutually latching relationship in the locked, folded-in condition of the blade.
In a further improved configuration of the invention the pin is admittedly accessible from the exterior, but it is sunk in the handle. That is intended to mean that it does not project from or out of the handle. A separate tool is then required for turning the pin. A small child can only actuate the pin when that tool is available to the child. That further improves the desired child-proofing effect.
At its end which is accessible from the exterior the pin has in particular a slot which is preferably matched to the thickness of a conventional coin. Thus an adult can use a coin from his purse in order either to lock or unlock a folded-in blade. A coin is usually immediately available to an adult. This means that actuation of the locking means is not hindered by virtue of the fact that the desired tool is not available at the crucial moment. As a small child does not usually have a coin available, that ensures the safety aspect.
In a further advantageous configuration of the invention the knife includes a loop or bow member which is connected rotatably to the handle and slidably to the blade. The bow member covers the joint of the knife when the blade is folded into the handle. The joint of the knife means the region which is formed by the rotatable connection between the blade and the handle. When the blade is extended the bow member then projects on the side of the knife which is opposite to the cutting edge of the blade.
When the blade is extended from the handle, the projecting bow member thus serves as a thumb support and as a means for preventing the hand slipping off. When the knife is held at the handle, then pressure can be applied to the bow member for example with the thumb and in that way pressure can also be applied to the blade. The bow member prevents the thumb from sliding along the blade. This prevents the hand from slipping off and thus avoids a possible risk of injury.
When the blade is folded into the bow member, the latter serves as a dust protection for the joint. The mechanically movable parts, that is to say the rotatable connection between the blade and the handle, are thus protected from fouling in an improved fashion.
In order to connect the bow member slidably to the blade, a slot is provided in the blade. The bow member extends laterally of the blade as far as the slot. In the region of the slot the bow member has a pin which passes into the slot. In that way, on the one hand, a connection is made between the bow member and the blade. On the other hand, the pin can be displaced along the slot so that the connection between the bow member and the blade is slidable in accordance with the invention. The slot is so disposed that the blade can be folded unimpededly into the handle, without in that case being blocked by the bow member being fixed to the blade.
The maximum width of the bow member advantageously substantially corresponds to the width of the handle. The term width of the handle is used to denote the extent of the handle, which is shown in the section in FIG. 4. The width of the bow member is adapted to the handle in order in that way to afford a nice pleasing appearance, to provide secure slip-off protection for the thumb and to reliably afford protection from dust when the blade is folded in.
When the blade is completely extended, an advantageous configuration of the invention provides a further locking means which locks the blade in the extended position. For that purpose the blade has in particular an opening into which engages a blocking element which is connected to the handle. The blocking element is urged into the opening by means of spring force. In order to unlock the assembly, it is necessary to depress a button against the spring force. There is also provided an adjusting means with which the biasing of the spring can be altered.
It is thus possible to individually adjust the force with which the button has to be depressed in order to unlock the blade in the extended condition thereof. The adjusting means can comprise a pin with an opening. The spring presses against the opening. When the pin is rotated, the spring stress is altered in that way. It is thus possible to take account of individual requirements.
The pin for adjustment of the spring force is sunk in the handle and is accessible from the exterior. That pin is also preferably rotated by way of an auxiliary means. That therefore avoids inadvertent adjustment of the spring force. Once again, the pin is in particular so designed that it can be rotated by means of a coin. For that purpose, it has a suitably large slot at the end which is accessible from the exterior.